Spirits: Good Signs and Bad Signs

Indicators of Problems...

As a note, I have personally heard a good number of the quotes below
(or something very similar), directed at me. Sometimes I wish a
little warning bell would've gone off in my head when I'd heard the
line.

Oh ... and these criteria apply to both people in a body and those who
are not - anyone who is supposedly speaking for God or the
Light, or who claims or seems to be from Heaven or a higher plane.
(You will notice a lot of friends and family may routinely fail these
criteria, but most of them probably don't claim to be Inspired at the
time.)

A real "good guy" will evidence:

Patience.

No threats. Period. "Do this or you're choosing Darkness!" is a
threat. So is, "This is your last chance to meet God!"

No bribes. No offers of fame, excitement, love, guidance. None of
these offers of power, psychic power, influence, superhuman ability!

No flattery. None of the "You're special" treatment. "You're
different from the others..." "Your destiny is different" "You are
from Arcturus and hence special"... none of that. Nothing that raises
you higher than others, either.

No patronizing; no condescension. "You're doing pretty well ...
for a human," for example, is condescending. No condescension toward
other people, either. Mockery is Right Out. Anyone who laughs at
you or your failures mockingly is probably not helping.

No objections to being cut off or ignored. A caring spirit will
not mind it when, in trying to tune out bad spirits, you wind up
tuning out some good ones as well. Warnings that you're tuning out
too many good ones are actually lies -- this I know from experience!

No attempt to prolong communication. Good spirits are typically
very businesslike: they give a simple message, remind people to turn
to God or a specific solution/reminder, and then they leave. The get
to the point and it's done. Entities that like to linger and talk
on and on, as if they like "hearing the sound of their own voice"(!)
are rarely of God. (Note: many channeled books seem to be the
latter.)

No micromanagement of your life. No attempts to live your life
for you, either.

No attempts to separate you from the rest of society. Jesus,
after all, continued to speak with his family and serve in his
community.

No attempts to separate you from the rest of the world via new
and cool-sounding terminology, or even old Capitalized Special
Terminology. Oh, sure, the spiritual world must necessarily involve
some new or unusual vocabulary/lingo. But when the techno babble gets
really thick, watch out! That stuff is an appeal to elitist pride.

No usage of cryptic and "wise" or "profound" comments designed to
impress you with his/her "higher knowledge" -- you should be able to
freely ask for and receive clarification, and to see whether s/he
really tries to live those words. If the words sound like they came
straight out of a book ... and all your questions are answered that way
... are you talking to a "parrot" or a person? (No offence to real
parrots, whom I respect a great deal.)

No attempts at coercion. "Sometimes we must force them to
understand" is a coercive statement, even if it's well-intentioned
("Sometimes we must force them to understand that racism is evil").

No lying. Also, anyone who says that something will definitely
happen is likely lying, since free will means that the future can
be changed, to some extent. But predictions that are true are not
necessarily proof of anything, either.

No badmouthing of others. Statements like, "So-and-so is blinded
by his religion" can be dangerous --- it may be that so-and-so is
actually right, and that the spirit you're talking to is lying.

No attempt to blame other people for your current problems. "You
were psychologically abused by so-and-so" with the implication you
should now accuse them of their crime and blame them for your
problems.

No over-dredging of minor childhood traumas, molehills blown up
into mountains. "That incident when you were 3 is when this part of
your soul split off, in shock and disappointment."

No attempt to impress you with names or relationships. "I was
Jesus' aunt" or "I am Archangel Gabriel!" are included in this.

No attempt to impress you with who/what they are. "Archangel
So-and-So" "Special commander of the seventh battalion of the Altaire
fleet" is included. In spirit, it is NOT the origin, race, age,
status, planet of origin, gender, etc., that is important; all that
matters is: Does the entity serve God and love others, and promote the
love of God and others?

No attempt to extoll anyone except God (or maybe Jesus). Talk of
"ascended masters" or "spirit guides" or other spirit teachers might
sound great on the surface ... but what happened to God? Is the
advice given that of "rely on God, speak to God, pray to God," or is
it "rely on X, speak to X, pray to X" where X is not God? Beware the
latter; it sounds like someone is trying to create a dependency that
shouldn't exist.

No attempt to take credit/glory. A true angel of God
would never accept worship or adoration or praise or any kind of
attention of that sort. A true angel of God would always pass the
"glory" (so to speak) to God or to Jesus. Some angels may accept a
simple "thank you," but not in excess of thanks to God. (Think of it
this way: your dad sends a check to bail you out of crushing debt. To
give all your thanks and attention to the mailman who brought you the
check is misplacing the gratitude. The mailman just says, "Glad to
help, but I'm just doing my job! Thank your dad, not me!") True
angels know that God is the Source of all good, and want to make sure
people give God the credit, and do not start worshipping angels (bad
for the people and bad for the angels!).

No expectation of trust. "I'm insulted that you don't trust me,"
"Why can't you trust me? Relax" and such things are dangerous. Good
guys want to earn your trust, not demand it.

No demand for performance. "You must do such-and-such,"
"Practice the piano more often," "Learn that foreign language you've
been putting off," "Eat more fiber, exercise, floss your teeth, stay
away from pollution, meditate 30 minutes daily, have more sex," and
other such recommendations for intense, self-centered schedules are a
bad indicator. It's especially so if the messages involve worldly
concerns, even if justified (such as "earn more money so you can help
more people").

No self-inflation. Images of the spirit sitting on a throne, or
words about how advanced or wise the spirit is (especially when
compared to "lesser spirits" or to you), are signs that the spirit has
an inflated ego. "I am a spirit of the sixth plane/sphere" should not
impress you. Neither should, "I am from Arcturus."

No badmouthing of those closest to God, or of God. "The Light is
static, unchanging (i.e., boring and stupid)" or "The highest angels
are bound by countless (bureaucratic) laws and regulations" are all
subtle messages designed to turn you away from the Light. Don't
believe them. Don't follow those unstated implications; look instead
to the motivation behind what's being said.

No implication that reincarnation is a good thing or the right
solution to peoples' problems. The most advanced teachers in human
history taught that we should escape the reincarnation cycle, not that
we should use it to cure ourselves of our karmic debts. Jesus, for
instance, forgave people their sins --- which implies that God can
help us overcome our karmic debts not through reincarnation, but
through forgiveness and caring.

No advice or encouragement for you to rely on your "Higher Self."
In many people's experience, the "Higher Self" is the most arrogant
and obnoxious sub-personality of the person, or sometimes it's a
complete fake --- a liar pretending to be someone's "Higher Self."
Higher Selves, as such, may be less wise than you (if they exist), and
are certainly less wise than God.

No implication or encouragement for you to totally rely on other
spirits (aside from God) for guidance or growth. We must learn to
stand on our own. This does not mean we don't need some guidance;
however, it's up to us to show initiative.

No emphasis on bureaucracy, on "the process," or on hierarchies
of spirits or planes. Rigid step-by-step ladders of ascension speak
more of dogma than caring or truth.

If you have to pay money to progress, be doubly wary!!

No anger, irritation, vindictiveness or other such things that
are a subtle form of attack against others, even your enemies.

No implications that feelings of intense power, love, joy, peace,
light, and so on are proof of truth or of God's presence.

The number of years you have known the spirit is not a good
indicator of trustworthiness! Liar entities can hang around for a lot
longer than a single human lifespan or even three or more.

Respect for your free will and of others'. Stepping into your
body and mucking around without your permission is often a bad sign.

Warnings of the possibility of deception. Any spirit that
advocates channeling, without warning about liars, is likely either
unwise (foolish!) or is hiding something.
....A good teacher really does keep pointing the way upward, and
really does let the student grow without confining him in a cage. A
bad teacher wants a power trip from his followers ... a good teacher
wants the student to be free, able to stand on his own feet, strong
enough to be able to reach out and help others, and wise enough to
continue the course upward to God... even without help from the
teacher.